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Frigging tyre fitters.....
flak monkey - 23/7/09 at 05:37 PM

...bit of a generalisation but still.

Leon had 2 new tyres on less than 2 weeks ago for the MOT before I bought it.

The muppets who fitted them seem to have done the front wheel studs up with an impact wrench set on max. Buggered if I can get them undone, even a 3' Britool breaker bar wont shift them and I darent pull on it any harder!

Taking it in to my friendly garage tomorrow to get them undone.

Anyway my point is why do they insist on doing wheel nuts up so damn tight? Idiots!

David

PS yes I know there are a lot of good fitters too (like my local)....


Guinness - 23/7/09 at 05:44 PM

I can fully sympathise with you there.

I took my brand new Seat Leon from Newcastle to Cardiff when it was about a week old. Arrived on site, parked up. When I came out back tyre was totally flat.

Opened the boot, got the wheel wrench out of the boot, put it on, pushed, pulled, swore, sweated, yanked, shoved, strained. Bloody nuts wouldn't shift at all.

After about 10 mins I had to give in and call the AA!

Mike


balidey - 23/7/09 at 05:45 PM

you can ask them to not use windy guns.
One of my local places (Apex tyres in Peterborough) torque them by hand. not many places do it as standard.


scottc - 23/7/09 at 05:50 PM

quote:
Originally posted by flak monkey

Anyway my point is why do they insist on doing wheel nuts up so damn tight? Idiots!



I think they're just too lazy to do it properly.

[Edited on 23/7/09 by scottc]


zoom - 23/7/09 at 05:52 PM

As a frigging tyre fitter myself....... I know what you mean!
My business is mobile and we get lots of over tigthened nuts, its a real pain.
I wont let any of my fitters use power tools and make them get the customer to sign that they have used a torque wrench by hand.
But to be honest the guns dont do them up that tight it usually over tightened by hand which is worse.


l0rd - 23/7/09 at 06:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by zoom
But to be honest the guns dont do them up that tight it usually over tightened by hand which is worse.


Tell me about it. My uncle used to swear at me. 8 out of 10 times, when i tightened a olt, i would F**k the threads from the Tractor.


Dangle_kt - 23/7/09 at 06:41 PM

I was stood on my breaker bar the other week when the tin top needed to have a wheel off!

thankfully 1 slap on the belly and the vibration did the rest


Ben_Copeland - 23/7/09 at 06:56 PM

I was always told that doing alloy wheels up too tight can damage the wheels.

I'd take it back to them (if possible) and get them to bloody undo them... them complain and say their damaged and get new wheels out of them


Gazeddy - 23/7/09 at 07:01 PM

dont know about damage to the wheels but it can and doest stretch bolts/studs potentially causing failure


tomgregory2000 - 23/7/09 at 07:04 PM

Tell me about it!!!!
What makes it worse is when then DONT use copper gease Muppets!!!!!!


David Jenkins - 23/7/09 at 07:15 PM

My favourite tyre place only use the rattle gun to take the nuts off - they use hand tools to put them back on, finishing with a torque wrench.
(Hadleigh Tyres, Ipswich)


iank - 23/7/09 at 07:36 PM

Did they put the yellow/red dots in the right places?


flak monkey - 23/7/09 at 07:40 PM

quote:
Originally posted by iank
Did they put the yellow/red dots in the right places?


Yep, thats about all they did right


iank - 23/7/09 at 07:42 PM

quote:
Originally posted by flak monkey
quote:
Originally posted by iank
Did they put the yellow/red dots in the right places?


Yep, thats about all they did right


As you're not ranting about it sounds like they also used stick on weights not hammer on ones, so that's two things.

Hope studs/wheels are ok when you finally get them off.


JAMSTER - 23/7/09 at 07:55 PM

had this problem ona volvo the other week
ended up putting a socket on the wheel bolt 3 or 4 good welts with a hammer then a big bar hey presto they come undone might be worth a try at your own risk.


flak monkey - 23/7/09 at 07:57 PM

quote:
Originally posted by iank
As you're not ranting about it sounds like they also used stick on weights not hammer on ones, so that's two things.

Hope studs/wheels are ok when you finally get them off.


As far as I can tell they have yes, but I cant get the wheels off to check lol.

One of the back wheels has a single clip on weight fitted, with some other stick on ones too.

Looks like its going to sling it down with rain here in a minute, cars going to get a wash!


flak monkey - 23/7/09 at 07:59 PM

quote:
Originally posted by JAMSTER
had this problem ona volvo the other week
ended up putting a socket on the wheel bolt 3 or 4 good welts with a hammer then a big bar hey presto they come undone might be worth a try at your own risk.


Have had a long bar on them, jumped up and down on it, pulled on it as hard as I dare, smacked them with an impact driver, hit them with my air impact wrench and only managed to undo 2 of them. They both went with a bang when I finally got them undone and I thought I had broken the socket!

Will see how my tyre fitters get on tomorrow....

David


02GF74 - 23/7/09 at 08:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by flak monkey

Anyway my point is why do they insist on doing wheel nuts up so damn tight? Idiots!




you know the answer to this., you went to uni, they didn't. that is why.


eznfrank - 23/7/09 at 08:50 PM

My missus had a flat while I was away with work and was very relieved when a local garage lad offered to stick the spare on for nowt. He used air gun and stripped the thread off the bolt and out of the hub. He must have know as they were very loose just spinning round. I phoned to have a moan at them but of course they had no record of the job


davie h - 23/7/09 at 08:58 PM




you know the answer to this., you went to uni, they didn't. that is why.


so is everyone who didnt go to uni an idiot

Davie


tegwin - 23/7/09 at 09:08 PM

I actually had to take my car back to the garage that fitted my tyres....

The studs were stretched by 3mm and narrowed dangerously..... when I went to retorque them, they snapped......

They bought me a new set... Now I make sure that they do them up to the correct torque... and no tighter!!! Dont want to loose a wheel!


locoR1 - 23/7/09 at 09:27 PM

Name and shame the Bas***ds Formula 1 in Peterborough always do them up with an air gun
I only tend to use them because they are cheep i should know better really coming from the motor trade.

Had a puncture repaired on my daughters Clio a couple of months ago all was fine until i wanted the wheel of the other week, had to put a length of tube onto my metre long breaker bar to undo the wheel bolts then broke the locking wheel nut tool off took me an hour to drill the bolt out


l0rd - 23/7/09 at 10:33 PM

Well. Look what happened to my Clio bar when i tryied to undo my wheels.

By the way, the jack holded perfectly allright.

[img][/img]


flak monkey - 24/7/09 at 10:49 AM

Going to hit them with my impact wrench from work at lunch time.

3/4" drive Makita one, will either break something or they will come undone, one or the other (588Nm torque....)

David


flak monkey - 24/7/09 at 01:53 PM

Sorted it. Sheared off a 1/2" drive impact extension in the process though! All bolts now undone and refitted correctly. What a pain!


iank - 24/7/09 at 03:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by flak monkey
Sorted it. Sheared off a 1/2" drive impact extension in the process though! All bolts now undone and refitted correctly. What a pain!


how tight does it have to be to destroy 1/2" impact extensions
I'd be replacing the studs/bolts as they must have stretched under that kind of abuse.